THE PINNACLES

Our morning started early. We had to be on the road for 8.30am, timing was important if we wanted to be back before dark. We set off to Thames, the gateway to the coromandel, where we would complete 7 hours of walking up to the the coromandel pinnacles. It was an overcast day and rain threatened to ruin the morning, but as we arrived into Thames, the sky cleared. We fuelled up on some pies before heading down the dusty road to the start of the track. 

It was just before midday when we started. Just a hundred metres or so in and we reached the first of many suspension bridges. The warnings said 1 person at a time and after standing on the fragile bridge overhanging the stream, we didn't dare try for any more. It was an easy incline the first few hundred metres but was already the hottest point of the day and we quickly lost our extra layers. We came across another stream, and that was where the fun began. On the other side of the was the first set of slippery, moss covered stairs. For the duration of the trip up, the stairs didn't stop. Kauri loggers had built stairs into the mountain that made climbing easier but were strenuous on the thighs. I can't count the amount of stops we had to make just to grab a drink and just stretch out of muscles. The stair master had nothing on these. 

As we neared the hut the trees cleared and the incline decreased. The rest of the way was a steadier climb. We finally reached the hut around 2.30pm, a good place to stop for lunch and refuel. We weren't finished yet, the hard part was still to come. To get to the top of the pinnacles, there were more stairs to climb, and even some ladders built into jagged rocks.The higher we climbed, the better the view. At the top we were greeted with a welcome breeze to cool us off and a view not for the faint of heart. The feeling of accomplishment was incredible, and just seeing how high we had climbed made us feel on top of the world. 

After snapping plenty of photos and allowing us enough time to catch out breath, we began the steady decline. Going down was meant to be a lot easier but by this point our legs felt like jelly and as we reached the hut again we couldn't stop our legs from shaking. It was 4.30pm and the forest floor would lose light quickly so we marched down. The footing was tricky and I only fell over and grazed my knee once. We arrived back in the car with mixed feelings of accomplishment and exhaustion. We headed back into Thames for well deserved, celebratory pint before starting the journey back to Auckland.